If you want to quickly calm irritated, reactive skin, you’ve come to the right place. We all know the warning signs: redness, peeling, and a complexion that’s loudly letting you know it’s not happy. Whether you’re having a bad reaction to that new moisturizer you tried, or experiencing a flare up from common triggers (more on this later), it’s time to go back to the gentlest basics you own.
A caveat: For those who have skin conditions like eczema, psoriasis, or rosacea, you’ll definitely want to talk to your dermatologist or primary care physician for a more in-depth management plan. But for less serious cases of stressed skin, or if you’re just looking for some gentle skincare suggestions, we’ve got you covered. So the next time your skin starts stressing out, here’s exactly what you should do.
1. Avoid triggers for reactive skin.
Before we get into any specific products, one of the most effective ways to manage reactive skin (or steer clear of a reaction in the first place) is to avoid the common sensitive skin triggers below:
- Harsh ingredients: When your skin is acting up, it’s time to put the harsh—or even just strong—ingredients down. You may use skincare with exfoliants or retinol regularly, but when your skin is red or peeling, it’s signalling you that it needs a break, at least until it returns to normal. Now’s the time to avoid anything made to clarify or smooth your skin.
You’ll also want to avoid ingredients that can be drying, like alcohol.
-
Fragrance: Even if you really love how your lotion and perfumes smell, avoid applyingthem directly to stressed skin. Added fragrance can be a common trigger for sensitive skin, which means your moisturizers, toners, and cleansers should be fragrance-free until your reaction clears up.
-
Heat: Yes, that hot shower might be drying your skin out! Prolonged exposure to intense heat, whether that’s a shower or hot tub soak, can worsen dryness and irritation. Our beauty tip? Keep your showers closer to lukewarm.
-
Inflammatory foods: Some foods can cause skin to flare up, especially if you have a skin condition like rosacea. These can include spicy foods, sugar, or dairy—but since this varies by individual, we recommend checking with your doctor before cutting anything out.
-
Alcohol: Alcohol can also further stress skin out or cause redness. Just like the previous category, we’d recommend checking with your doctor first on this one.
2. Remove makeup as gently as possible.
Now it’s time to get into your calming, soothing skincare routine. First, skip the cleansing wipes, which can tug and pull at your skin. Instead, try a gentle cleansing balm to rinse everything off without stripping your face of moisture. Our Centella Sunflower Makeup-Melting Cleansing Balm has a soft, sorbet-like texture that melts into skin on contact and washes away SPF and waterproof makeup with ease. It’s formulated with sunflower seed oil unsaponifiables for effective cleansing, plus soothing Centella asiatica extract. And it’s free of common irritants like sulfates, silicones and alcohol.
“When my eczema flares up, I simplify my routine to just cleanser, moisturizer, and sunscreen,” says Tanusha, our B2C Marketing Team member. She loves starting her routine with this formula, which melts off her mascara and foundation without leaving her face feeling uncomfortably dry and tight. “Double cleansing is an essential step in my routine, but so many makeup removers contain harsh surfactants or fragrance that can worsen irritation,” she says. This one gets her stamp of approval.
3. Use a pH-friendly cleanser.
After her first cleanse, Tanusha goes in for a full double cleanse with our Black Rice Moisture 5.5 Soft Cleansing Gel. If your face is feeling particularly dry and sensitive, you can opt for just one of our cleansers. But if you want to double cleanse (using an oil-based and water-based cleanser together to completely remove makeup, SPF, and impurities) in the gentlest way possible, this is our team’s favorite duo.
“This combination gently removes impurities without drying out my skin,” says Tanusha. “After cleansing, my face always feels clean, calm, and ready to absorb moisture for proper healing.” The secret to this cleansing gel’s calming feel is its pH-friendly formula. A balanced Ph helps
your skin maintain its natural moisture barrier, so we formulated this one with a mildly acidic pH level of 5.5, just like healthy skin. It’s also packed with natural surfactants from coconuts and fermented black rice extracts to reduce irritation and leave skin moisturized and soft. And of course, it’s fragrance-free.
4. Treat your skin to gentle hydration.
Now that your skin is clean, it’s time to hydrate. We recommend our moisturizing powerhouse, the Black Rice Hyaluronic Toner for Sensitive Skin. Because we made this version specifically for sensitive skin types, the formula is hypoallergenic, as well as alcohol- and fragrance-free. Even though it absorbs fast, you can count on it to boost hydration; it’s clinically proven to improve skin moisture by 57.65%.* It’s packed with some of our favorite ingredients like hyaluronic acid and antioxidant-rich fermented rice extract, which is especially effective for nourishing your skin.
“My skin’s pretty sensitive year-round, and I also deal with mild rosacea,” says Jennifer from our Wholesale team, who swears by this toner for keeping her skin happy. “It’s super gentle—no stinging or irritation, just a calming, hydrating feel. It’s one of the few products that actually helps settle my skin when it’s acting up. Over time, I've noticed that my skin feels more resilient overall.”
*In a clinical trial of 22 subjects after 2 weeks of use.
5. Boost your skin barrier.
No matter your skin type, healthy skin depends on a strong skin barrier. When your barrier is damaged or weak, it can cause flare ups and dryness or worsen irritation. That’s why an essential step in our calming skincare routine is a barrier-supporting moisturizer like our Black Rice 5 Ceramide Barrier Moisturizing Cream. Just like our toner, it packs a serious punch of moisture and is clinically proven to improve skin moisture by 37.129%.* And it’s clinically proven to improve the skin barrier by 23.597%.*
We formulated this luxurious cream with barrier-boosting fermented black rice, plus ceramide capsules that are structured similarly to your skin, ensuring easy absorption. “It’s been amazing at soothing my sensitive skin,” says Hannah, our Wholesale Team member. “Due to a damaged barrier, my skin gets easily irritated. I’ve noticed it’s become so much calmer and glowier since I started using this formula.” Just like us, she’s a big fan of the smart ceramides. “I love the capsules,” she says. “Feeling them melt into my skin and soothe my complexion is so satisfying.”
*In a clinical trial of 20 subjects after 2 weeks of use.
While we’d recommend keeping your reactive skin routine as simple as possible, remember to pair it with your favorite sunscreen during the day for proper UV protection. Here’s hoping your complexion returns to its cool, collected state as soon as possible.
Meet the Author
Haruharu Wonder contributor Sarah Y. Wu has a decade of experience in the industry as a beauty editor, copy director, and brand consultant. Her bylines have appeared in outlets including Teen Vogue, Forbes, Allure, Marie Claire, Glamour, NYLON, Bustle, The Zoe Report, Vogue, WWD, and Byrdie. She’s also the copywriter and copy director for some of your favorite skincare, fragrance, and makeup brands. While she’s tried thousands of products over the course of her career, she’ll always save a spot in her beauty routine for Haruharu Wonder’s Black Rice Bakuchiol Eye Cream and Centella Sunflower Makeup-Melting Cleansing Balm. Connect with her on Instagram @say.wu.
If Your Skin Is Stressed Out, Here’s What to Do From avoiding common triggers to switching your skincare routine.
If you want to quickly calm irritated, reactive skin, you’ve come to the right place. We all know the warning signs: redness, peeling, and a complexion that’s loudly letting you know it’s not happy. Whether you’re having a bad reaction to that new moisturizer you tried, or experiencing a flare up from common triggers (more on this later), it’s time to go back to the gentlest basics you own.
A caveat: For those who have skin conditions like eczema, psoriasis, or rosacea, you’ll definitely want to talk to your dermatologist or primary care physician for a more in-depth management plan. But for less serious cases of stressed skin, or if you’re just looking for some gentle skincare suggestions, we’ve got you covered. So the next time your skin starts stressing out, here’s exactly what you should do.
1. Avoid triggers for reactive skin.
Before we get into any specific products, one of the most effective ways to manage reactive skin (or steer clear of a reaction in the first place) is to avoid the common sensitive skin triggers below:
You’ll also want to avoid ingredients that can be drying, like alcohol.
Fragrance: Even if you really love how your lotion and perfumes smell, avoid applyingthem directly to stressed skin. Added fragrance can be a common trigger for sensitive skin, which means your moisturizers, toners, and cleansers should be fragrance-free until your reaction clears up.
Heat: Yes, that hot shower might be drying your skin out! Prolonged exposure to intense heat, whether that’s a shower or hot tub soak, can worsen dryness and irritation. Our beauty tip? Keep your showers closer to lukewarm.
Inflammatory foods: Some foods can cause skin to flare up, especially if you have a skin condition like rosacea. These can include spicy foods, sugar, or dairy—but since this varies by individual, we recommend checking with your doctor before cutting anything out.
Alcohol: Alcohol can also further stress skin out or cause redness. Just like the previous category, we’d recommend checking with your doctor first on this one.
2. Remove makeup as gently as possible.
Now it’s time to get into your calming, soothing skincare routine. First, skip the cleansing wipes, which can tug and pull at your skin. Instead, try a gentle cleansing balm to rinse everything off without stripping your face of moisture. Our Centella Sunflower Makeup-Melting Cleansing Balm has a soft, sorbet-like texture that melts into skin on contact and washes away SPF and waterproof makeup with ease. It’s formulated with sunflower seed oil unsaponifiables for effective cleansing, plus soothing Centella asiatica extract. And it’s free of common irritants like sulfates, silicones and alcohol.
“When my eczema flares up, I simplify my routine to just cleanser, moisturizer, and sunscreen,” says Tanusha, our B2C Marketing Team member. She loves starting her routine with this formula, which melts off her mascara and foundation without leaving her face feeling uncomfortably dry and tight. “Double cleansing is an essential step in my routine, but so many makeup removers contain harsh surfactants or fragrance that can worsen irritation,” she says. This one gets her stamp of approval.
3. Use a pH-friendly cleanser.
After her first cleanse, Tanusha goes in for a full double cleanse with our Black Rice Moisture 5.5 Soft Cleansing Gel. If your face is feeling particularly dry and sensitive, you can opt for just one of our cleansers. But if you want to double cleanse (using an oil-based and water-based cleanser together to completely remove makeup, SPF, and impurities) in the gentlest way possible, this is our team’s favorite duo.
“This combination gently removes impurities without drying out my skin,” says Tanusha. “After cleansing, my face always feels clean, calm, and ready to absorb moisture for proper healing.” The secret to this cleansing gel’s calming feel is its pH-friendly formula. A balanced Ph helps
your skin maintain its natural moisture barrier, so we formulated this one with a mildly acidic pH level of 5.5, just like healthy skin. It’s also packed with natural surfactants from coconuts and fermented black rice extracts to reduce irritation and leave skin moisturized and soft. And of course, it’s fragrance-free.
4. Treat your skin to gentle hydration.
Now that your skin is clean, it’s time to hydrate. We recommend our moisturizing powerhouse, the Black Rice Hyaluronic Toner for Sensitive Skin. Because we made this version specifically for sensitive skin types, the formula is hypoallergenic, as well as alcohol- and fragrance-free. Even though it absorbs fast, you can count on it to boost hydration; it’s clinically proven to improve skin moisture by 57.65%.* It’s packed with some of our favorite ingredients like hyaluronic acid and antioxidant-rich fermented rice extract, which is especially effective for nourishing your skin.
“My skin’s pretty sensitive year-round, and I also deal with mild rosacea,” says Jennifer from our Wholesale team, who swears by this toner for keeping her skin happy. “It’s super gentle—no stinging or irritation, just a calming, hydrating feel. It’s one of the few products that actually helps settle my skin when it’s acting up. Over time, I've noticed that my skin feels more resilient overall.”
*In a clinical trial of 22 subjects after 2 weeks of use.
5. Boost your skin barrier.
No matter your skin type, healthy skin depends on a strong skin barrier. When your barrier is damaged or weak, it can cause flare ups and dryness or worsen irritation. That’s why an essential step in our calming skincare routine is a barrier-supporting moisturizer like our Black Rice 5 Ceramide Barrier Moisturizing Cream. Just like our toner, it packs a serious punch of moisture and is clinically proven to improve skin moisture by 37.129%.* And it’s clinically proven to improve the skin barrier by 23.597%.*
We formulated this luxurious cream with barrier-boosting fermented black rice, plus ceramide capsules that are structured similarly to your skin, ensuring easy absorption. “It’s been amazing at soothing my sensitive skin,” says Hannah, our Wholesale Team member. “Due to a damaged barrier, my skin gets easily irritated. I’ve noticed it’s become so much calmer and glowier since I started using this formula.” Just like us, she’s a big fan of the smart ceramides. “I love the capsules,” she says. “Feeling them melt into my skin and soothe my complexion is so satisfying.”
*In a clinical trial of 20 subjects after 2 weeks of use.
While we’d recommend keeping your reactive skin routine as simple as possible, remember to pair it with your favorite sunscreen during the day for proper UV protection. Here’s hoping your complexion returns to its cool, collected state as soon as possible.
Meet the Author
Haruharu Wonder contributor Sarah Y. Wu has a decade of experience in the industry as a beauty editor, copy director, and brand consultant. Her bylines have appeared in outlets including Teen Vogue, Forbes, Allure, Marie Claire, Glamour, NYLON, Bustle, The Zoe Report, Vogue, WWD, and Byrdie. She’s also the copywriter and copy director for some of your favorite skincare, fragrance, and makeup brands. While she’s tried thousands of products over the course of her career, she’ll always save a spot in her beauty routine for Haruharu Wonder’s Black Rice Bakuchiol Eye Cream and Centella Sunflower Makeup-Melting Cleansing Balm. Connect with her on Instagram @say.wu.